Fentanyl Use Fatality Stemmed from Drug Rep Push in Cherry Hill

A lawsuit has been filed regarding a woman’s fatality that allegedly stemmed from prescribed fentanyl use. The 32-year-old woman started using Subsys, a fast-acting form of fentanyl, which is only prescribed for severe cancer pain, after her Cherry Hill, New Jersey doctor, prescribed the drug for chronic pain relief. Two serious car accidents left the Stratford, New Jersey woman with severe neck and head pain that forced her to leave her nurses’ aide job. Her doctor started prescribing opioids for her pain within two months of treatment, and eventually, the patient was urged to use Subsys by the drug rep visiting her doctor’s office. After 15 months of use, she suffered a fatality from the fentanyl use. Allegations against the pharmaceutical company include that the company paid doctors to promote fentanyl drug use for pain patients without the proper diagnosis; that employees posed as staff from doctors’ offices and contacted insurers to obtain prior drug authorization by claiming the patients had cancer; and that management level employees conspired to bribe doctors nationwide to inappropriately prescribe Subsys to their pain patients.

Other injuries and fatalities originated from improperly prescribed fentanyl use. The pharmaceutical company who unscrupulously promoted and distributed Subsys to doctors who inappropriately prescribed it to their patients are targeted as a main offender of fostering this practice. Although fentanyl products are routinely used for some surgeries and severe cancer pain management, they are highly dangerous and not FDA-approved for other pain issues.